Their Wife

Twenty-Seven

A/n: I will be posting another update sometime before Friday of a previous chapter in Zev's POV. Aside from that, updates will continue to be on only Friday.

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Air was for those who deserved it. You needed to earn it.

One wrong move.

And one with the power could take it.

Imaginative hands wrapped around my neck and pulled me down. They were gentle; coaxing. They stroked my skin; warmed my veins. The water was warm; the worries were gone- fading, dispersing.

"-ea..."

I jolted with a gasp.

Panicking, I grabbed for whatever was near as the calm lure of sleep turned into a burn of desperation as my lungs suffocated and filled with water.

I choked and coughed.

A large hand clamped down on my shoulder, holding me from slipping back into the water. Its grip was tight and firm. I swatted it away and backed up towards the side of the tub, my back towards the large window that reflected the brightly lit washroom and hid the dark, starless night outside.

Reflected in it, I had no doubt, was the image of Axel as he stood back at the side of the tub. His hands were raised, showing he meant no harm. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up just past his elbows, but that still didn't save the black fabric from darkening with water on one arm.

My panicked eyes travelled up his solid body before reaching his face.

Which is why he had such a long moment to get a good eyeful. It was clear he was using it to his advantage, too.

The water violently splashed around me as I wrapped my arms around my chest while simultaneously saving myself from drowning as my body slipped on the smooth porcelain tub from the sharp, jerky action.

"Woa-"

"No!"

I shouted, raising a panicked palm as I curled my body into the side of the tub, turning my back towards Axel while pushing my bare breasts into the still chilled part of the tub. I shivered violently at the intense shift from the warmth of the water to the cold of the porcelain open to the chilled air.

I had been less aware of it in the heat of the moment with Ezra, but my insecurities were coming rearing back in Axel's presence. His utterly beautiful and handsome features weren't doing anything to make me feel better about my saggy skin or stretch marks. There was nothing like comparing yourself to the closest thing you would ever consider labelling as godly. He seemed to be carved from marble while I probably didn't even stand up to the leftover pile of rubble.

Axel stopped mid-motion. He was partially reaching out towards me, looking like he was about to help.

I huddled impossibly further into the hard side of the tub.

"Careful," he said. "I know I'm a sight to see, but remember what I said about the falling." He straightened as he talked while making sure that I could still see his slightly spread hands, trying to seem less threatening.

That didn't help with the embarrassed flush of being exposed from coursing through me when his eyes flicked back down towards my now hidden breasts. They were quick to flick back to my face. Just like his tongue was quick to flick out over his lips. The heat in them was clear.

"I knocked," he said. His voice sounded booming as it bounced off the water as it waved in the large tub around me. "But you never responded." He put his hands in his pockets, the move brought my focus to his veined forearms that were dusted with hair. "So I thought I'd check to make sure everything was fine. I heard water through the door," he added like it excused everything.